Navy officer charged for leaking data reinstated

A Naval Commander removed from service two years ago, on the serious charge of leaking secret information on warships to a foreign woman intimate to him, was reinstated on orders of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The huge setback for the Navy came when the Court discovered there was practically no evidence to link the officer in question N Kalyan Kumar with the serious charge leveled against him. Evidence showed that the Commander, then posted in Mumbai, was constantly in touch through social media with a foreign woman married to another officer. The Naval Intelligence wing tracked some mails showing “salacious” material sent by the officer to the lady and accused him of conduct unbecoming of an officer. There was no direct material to show that he actually exchanged sensitive data.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Hl Dattu said, “A Naval Commander meeting a foreign national is such a big sinIJ In a society where we respect freedom, should you not be meeting a person with white skinIJ Therefore, in our view, the punishment is disproportionate.” This is the second defeat suffered by Navy after the Armed Forces Tribunal on June 25, 2014 exonerated the accused officer of misconduct and directed his reinstatement with full pecuniary benefits.

The bench, also comprising Justices SJ Mukhopadhaya and Arun Mishra felt that so long as the woman made no complaint about the objectionable material sent by the officer, it should be treated as a personal affair between two consenting adults. On the other charge, the Court failed to find any proof showing leakage of confidential material.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the Court that the conduct of the officer showed a propensity to leak valuable information. “We cannot wait till he actually passes information,” Rohatgi said seeking review of the AFT order. But the bench failed to be convinced. “You cant presume and then impose punishment,” added the bench. The allegations against the officer were two-fold. Firstly, he was sending explicit material to the wife of another officer and secondly, he is mixing with foreign nationals.

“Though she has white skin she has married an Indian and is part of our system and society,” the Court said adding that “in a scientific present day world we mix with several people and if two adults enjoy sharing material and she is happy about it and nobody has complained against this officer, it is a vague allegation that this man was passing sensitive information to her.”